As Amy stated in her post regarding Academic Advising, thinking about whether a course is bar tested is an important aspect of registration planning. Often, I am asked, “Should I take all of the courses that are bar tested?” My answer (as it is in many situations) is: “It depends…”

Therefore, when confronted with this question from students, I ask them a series of questions in return. This self-assessment helps students to become experts in their own learning and helps them to set appropriate learning goals for their future. Here are a few sample questions for your students to consider:

How have you performed in your first year?

Was legal writing difficult?

Do you prefer multiple choice exams or essay exams?

Can you identify characteristics you valued in your first year professors?

Can you identify characteristics you disliked or did not work for your learning style?

Did you have closed book, timed exams in your first year? If yes, how did you perform?

Do you prefer large classes or small seminars?

If your first year was (extremely) challenging, have you been able to assess why?

What areas of law interest you most?

Do you have a clear career plan? Practice area/job prospects/jurisdiction?

What would be your ideal law school schedule?

Once these questions have been answered, I can more specifically address whether students may need to take certain bar tested courses or whether they need to work on other skills to help them succeed in law school and beyond. Taking bar tested courses merely for the bar exam is unwise. However, there are situations where taking more bar tested courses may be helpful.

If you do not have time to meet with students individually, you can give them a list of questions like these to review on their own. Once they have taken some time to reflect, you can post general advice regarding the skills necessary to pass the bar exam, how specific courses may help build those skills, and the specific subjects tested on the bar exam in your jurisdiction. This will help guide their course selection and will give them a better idea of what to expect on the bar exam.